DISASTERS: The Second Deluge

The rampaging Mississippi was at it again
last week. For many residents along the river's course, it was their
second drenching in three weeks. Homeowners and farmers in dozens of
river towns from Illinois to Louisiana saw water overtop local levees,
surge through streets, inundate prime farm land. In Keithsburg, Ill.
(pop. 836), 15 square blocksthree-quarters of the townlay under 3
ft. of water after the levee broke. Four thousand flood-plain residents
north and south of Quincy, Ill.
were evacuated during a touch-and-go fight waged by 1,000 volunteers to
shore up...